


How to Confess Your Love in One Bite

by bluebellfantasy



Series: KH Holiday Series [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Aqua & Terra & Ventus Are Family (Kingdom Hearts), Axel & Roxas & Xion Friendship (Kingdom Hearts), Candy, Contests, Cute Kids, Destiny Island Trio (Kingdom Hearts), F/M, Family Shenanigans, Friendship, Gen, Halloween, Halloween Challenge, Halloween Costumes, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Lea is a troublemaker, Love Confessions, Major Aqua/Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Minor Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Minor Riku/Namine (Kingdom Hearts), Minor Roxas/Xion (Kingdom Hearts), One Big Happy Family, Parental Aqua (Kingdom Hearts), Parental Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Sea Salt Family (Kingdom Hearts), Trick or Treating, Wayfinder Trio (Kingdom Hearts)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:53:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27295228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluebellfantasy/pseuds/bluebellfantasy
Summary: "You take the boys, and I'll take the girls. Whichever team gets the most candy in one night wins" Aqua suggested."Sounds good to me," Terra said with a smile. It should be fun.“On one condition.” She grinned at Terra’s puzzled look. “If my team wins, you have to tell me whatever you were going to say but clearly chickened out on.”"....Fine."Upon almost confessing his budding love for Aqua but chickening out at the last second, Terra causes a distraction which leads to Aqua suggesting taking the rest of the gang trick-or-treating. If he loses? He has to confess. And there was no way in the endless words that Terra was going to do that.
Relationships: Aqua/Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé/Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas/Xion (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: KH Holiday Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2058879
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Thanks so much for reading this Halloween fic! I was taking a break from CinderAerith when this idea came into my head. I thought it was super cute, and I absolutely am a sucker for all of these ships, so I hope you enjoy it! There will be another chapter up tomorrow (Halloween) that will conclude the story. I hope you all enjoy it! Please kudos and leave comments if you do :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

Terra rarely got scared.

Sure, there were times that he was _nervous_ : the Mark of Mastery exam had him at his wit’s end (not that he’d ever let Aqua or Ven know). Any time that Eraqus would randomly test him on his abilities gave him a sudden burst of butterflies (again, not that he’d ever let his friends know that). But as soon as said events began, the nervousness went away as quickly as it came. Terra would usually be left wondering what he was so anxious about in the first place.

But _this –_ this obnoxious feeling that made his heart pump as if he’d just ran a mile, felt like his mouth was full of cotton and the urge to go home as fast as he could – was just _stupid._

Terra had told himself at least a hundred times: “Don’t freak out. It’ll be fine. Just ask her. Nice and simple.”

Terra’s life was full of irony. So he really _shouldn't_ have been surprised that, when he did ask Aqua to meet him at the Bistro in Twilight Town, he could barely form the words to ask her in the first place. Looking at it now, he wasn’t sure _how_ he managed to do it in the first place. And yet, here he was. Sitting in a chair at a table for two, waiting for one of his best friends, sure he was going to keel over from a heart attack at any moment.

Terra took another sip of his drink, trying to get a handle on his nerves. The empty chair across from him seemed to taunt him: _she’s not gonna show up. You know that, right?_ The freckled lemonade he ordered for Aqua was sweating in the afternoon heat. How long had it been since he ordered that? Would the ice melt before she got here? Terra let out a soft groan, resting his head on the table with a soft _thunk._

 _Get a grip,_ he argued to himself. _There are worse things that could be happening right now._

“Terra?”

Terra raised his head immediately. Aqua had made it after all. She was looking at him curiously, a small smile on her face. Her short hair swayed slightly in the gentle breeze. Terra had the strange urge to touch it. He resorted to clenching his fist and smiling back at her. He hoped it looked like a smile – it felt more like a grimace.

“Hey,” he said, gesturing to the seat across from him. “have a seat.”

“Thanks,” Aqua said, sitting down. Her eyes fell on the lemonade, and her smile grew. “did you order this for me?”

“Well, I knew it was your favorite, so...” the words seemed to come out of Terra’s mouth much faster than usual.

“Thanks!” Aqua took a small sip before adding, “I’ll pay you back.”

“You don’t have to,” Terra mumbled, before taking a long sip of his own drink.

“I don’t mind,” Aqua insisted.

Terra couldn’t help but smile at her. “It’s fine, Aqua. Really.”

As Aqua thanked him, Terra felt his heart skip a beat. She had always been _pretty_ , with her royal blue hair, slender frame and gentle smile. But seeing her again for the first time in over a decade awoke something in Terra. He wasn’t sure if it was the long separation, or if he was just seeing Aqua clearly for the first time, but the thought hit him with all the force of being struck by lightning:

_She’s_ _**beautiful.** _

The thought both scared and thrilled him, but he shoved it aside at the time. This was their first reunion, after all, and it was not a time to think things like that. Then was the time for embracing, tears, and gratitude. Terra had felt his heart close to bursting with love for his two best friends, who had never given up on him although he deserved it.

He and Ventus had bounced back to their friendship as if no time had passed at all. Ven was as cheerful as ever, although there was a maturity in his eyes Terra had never seen before. He suspected that more happened to Ven aside from sleeping for ten years, but he didn’t push it. He knew Ven would come to him and Aqua on his own terms, and in his own time.

The friendship with him and Aqua was... _different,_ somehow. And it wasn’t just the look of exhaustion so apparent in her eyes. At first, Terra thought it was merely guilt on his part of her being in the Realm of Darkness for so long. But he had felt guilt before, and this was nothing like it (although he still felt it, deeply). The more time went on, the more Terra realized that this feeling was completely new.

His mind kept going back to when he fully came back to Ven and Aqua in the Keyblade Graveyard. For some reason, his mind didn’t seem to remember that Ven was also there. It was just Aqua, completely radiant at his return. With the sunlight streaming behind her head, Aqua looked just like a blue-haired angel. When she cried, her tears looked like tiny precious gems. Her arms felt like a safe place to land, and her hugs had all the familiarity of home.

The only thing he could manage to say at the time was, “You never stopped lighting my way back.”

And now that they were home, and things were as “back to normal” as they could get, Terra knew that what he had felt that day for Aqua went beyond friendship. Once the realization clicked, his thoughts and feelings were relentless: even Aqua giving him a simple smile sent him in a tizzy.

It was annoying. It was illogical. But it was also strangely blissful.

Which led to what was happening right now. A few days previous, Terra decided it was time to act. Him and Aqua were good enough friends, and he knew that even if she did not return his feelings their friendship would remain intact. At least, that’s what he hoped with all of his heart.

“Thanks for coming,” Terra said. He inwardly groaned at how awkward his voice sounded.

“Sure thing.” Aqua set down her drink, then looked at him intently. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

 _Quick to the point as always,_ Terra thought, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Well, it’s just that...uh...”

Aqua cocked her head in slight concern. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Terra said quickly, trying to ignore how he could feel his heart pounding in his ears. Why was his mouth completely dry all of the sudden? Was that why the words couldn’t seem to come out of his mouth? He quickly took another sip of his drink, only to realize that there was nothing left but ice. Annoyed, he put the glass aside and attempted to speak again. “Aqua, there’s...” he swallowed hard. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.”

“Okay...” Aqua replied slowly, concern still showing in her voice.

Was it always this hot outside, or was Terra just now noticing it? He fidgeted with the collar of his shirt, trying to catch his breath. And what of their already existing friendship? Terra had heard stories of boys who told girls their real feelings, how the girl did not feel the same, and how it was forever awkward between the two. The sudden realization that Aqua would not only refuse his feelings but that things would never be the same between them made his blood run cold.

Looking into his best friend’s face, Terra realized something vitally important: there was _no way_ he could do this. At least, not right now. Pushing aside the fact that Aqua would pester him about it until he finally said it, Terra briefly looked around for a distraction.

As if a miracle from the heavens itself, he found one. “Hey, look!” he said, pointing behind Aqua.

Aqua turned in her chair to what Terra was pointing at. A soft chuckle escaped her lips. Two small children, a boy and a girl, were walking up the street. The boy wore a green tunic, white tights, a small green cap an a bow and quiver of arrows were strapped across his shoulder. The girl wore a long pink dress, long white gloves, and a crown on top of her head. Both were holding small buckets that were filled to the brim with various candies.

 _Sorry, Aqua,_ Terra silently apologized to her turned back. _Maybe one of these days I’ll tell you how I feel._ He hoped that his best friend would understand. He let out a quiet sigh and picked up his drink, swirling the ice around in the bottom of the glass.

_Coward._

“How cute,” Aqua breathed. Terra could hear the smile in her voice. She turned back in her chair to face him. “I didn’t realize it was so close to Halloween.”

“Me neither,” Terra replied, happy to have Aqua’s voice drown out his thoughts. “it’s been hard to keep track of things since we got back home.”

Aqua nodded, taking another sip of lemonade. After swallowing she said, “Do you remember when Master Eraqus would take us to other worlds on Halloween?”

Terra felt himself smile. “Yeah. It was before Ven, wasn’t it?”

Aqua nodded happily. “It was. It was after Ven came that Eraqus said we were too old for it.” She let out a small sigh. “Good times.”

“And I always got more candy than you,” Terra said, smirking slightly.

Aqua raised an eyebrow. “Uh. No. I’m pretty sure that was me.”

“No,” Terra retorted slightly, his smirk widening. “We always counted our candy afterwards, remember? And I always had more.”

Aqua shook her head, laughing a little. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Terra.” She took a sip of her drink.

“You know I did,” Terra said stubbornly.

“Did not.”

“Did too!”

“Not.”

“Too!”

“Look,” Aqua said, holding her hands up in surrender and laughing slightly. “I know I’m right, but if it bothers you that much we can do it again.”

“Trick-or-Treating?” Terra asked, surprised.

Aqua nodded. “I was thinking about suggesting it anyways. Ven never got to experience it, and I know he would love it.” She leaned across the table, mischief sparkling in her usual serene eyes. “So how about we make it a contest? You take the boys, and I take the girls. Whoever has the most candy combined wins?”

“Boys?” Terra asked, noticing the plural usage of the word. “Like Sora and Riku, too?”

“Yeah, and I’ll take Kairi, Namine and Xion. It would be fun! And I was thinking of inviting them for a Halloween party anyways.”

Terra smiled. “That sounds like a lot of fun. And you’re right, I’m sure Ven would love it. And not just him, but Sora would go nuts.” He leaned forward, getting close to her face. “But we should make some rules for it.”

“Like what?” Aqua asked.

Terra thought for a moment, then suggested, “No visiting Halloween Town. That would technically be cheating, since they do Halloween year round anyways. And each person on the team can have no more than one bucket of candy, you and I included.”

“That seems fair enough,” Aqua said, shrugging. “On one condition.” She grinned at Terra’s puzzled look. “If my team wins, you have to tell me whatever you were going to say but clearly chickened out on.”

Terra cast his eyes away, embarrassed. Sometimes Aqua was more analytical than he thought. “Fine,” he said after a while.

Little did the two of them know that, a few tables away, a certain redhead was hiding behind a newspaper. Hearing their every word, he smirked to himself as he devised a plan.

____________

The good news was, all of their friends would be able to make it. So it was that a few days later Terra, Aqua and Ventus waited for their friends outside their home. Ventus was bouncing on the balls of his feet, a wide smile on his face. Aqua was looking at a small list she had written down on a piece of paper. Terra merely kept his eyes on the horizon, determined not to stare at her.

“There they are!” Ven exclaimed, pointing to something in the distance.

The Gummi Ship sailed smoothly across the sky, a bright beacon of red against the now setting sun. It landed a small distance away from the three of them, and the door opened. Terra felt himself smile as his friends embarked.

There was Sora, with his wild brown hair and big smile; Kairi walking alongside him, her hair shorter than when he last saw her; Roxas, the spitting image of Ventus but with slightly darker hair; Xion following close behind him; Riku, glancing back inside the ship and gesturing to someone; and Namine, as fragile as a flower, hesitantly following Riku outside.

But it seemed that Namine was not the last one to embark. After she left the ship, a tall boy with wild hair followed her. His hands shoved deep in his pockets and smiling slightly, Lea made his way towards the rest of the group

Sora, Riku and Roxas made their way towards Terra. Sora was definitely more of a hugger, so Terra wasn’t surprised when he felt arms wrap around his waist. He patted Sora on the back before simpy giving a handshake and half-hug to everyone else (Lea, whom Terra probably knew the least, gave him a fist bump).

Kairi immediately ran to Aqua when she saw her, embracing her friend in a tight hug. Xion gave Roxas a bright smile before walking up to Aqua and doing the same. Aqua smiled fondly at the two girls, ruffling their hair. She asked them a few questions that Terra didn’t hear, and noticed Namine still standing in the distance. As if sensing how awkward the poor girl must feel, Aqua walked up to her, still smiling, and gently embraced her. Terra noticed the small smile on Namine’s face grow. Kairi and Xion caught up to the two of them, and they all began talking excitedly. Aqua gave each one of the girls her full, undivided attention.

Aqua always tried her best to make everyone feel included. It was one of the many things Terra loved about her.

“Hellooooo? Earth to Terra!”

Terra blinked as he saw a hand wave in front of his face. He looked to see Lea standing in front of him, smirking slightly. “I mean, we all know how pretty Aqua is, but you’re making it a bit too obvious.” he teased.

Terra rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. “Good to see you, Lea. What’re you doing here?”

“Heard Roxas talking about this the other day. I thought it’d be a good idea to help chaperone,” Lea said, glancing away in slight embarrassment. “Hope that’s okay?”

Terra let out a grateful sigh. “Actually, that would be helpful. Thank you,” he said. And he truly meant it. Lea simply nodded with a smile. “Did you all get here okay?” Terra asked, changing the subject.

“A bit cramped, but we’re here,” Lea replied, stretching slightly.

“A _bit?”_ Roxas snorted. “We could barely breathe since you were taking up so much space!”

“What do you mean?” Terra asked, a small laugh escaping him.

“This dork didn’t think there wouldn’t be enough room for seven people on the ship.” Riku said, lightly punching Sora in the shoulder.

“It fits me, Donald and Goofy just fine!” Sora replied, giving Riku a playful glare.

“Because there’s _three_ of you, not seven.” Riku pointed out, the corners of his mouth twitching.

“Well, if Lea didn’t insist upon sprawling across our laps and taking a nap -” Sora said, gesturing to the tallest of the group, “we would’ve at least had some wiggle room!”

Terra laughed. “Lea, _what?”_

Lea shrugged. “Just trying to make room for everyone. And I needed a nap.”

“And you drooled on my leg,” Roxas murmured. Terra couldn’t hide his laughter after that.

“Okay, everyone!” Aqua shouted, clapping her hands to get their attention. “First of all, thank you all so much for coming. We’ve been wanting to have you all over here for a while, but things have just been busy. Sorry about that. But Terra and I had an idea that we thought would be fun.”

“It was completely _your_ idea.” Terra pointed out.

Aqua ignored him. “Master Eraqus used to take Terra and I trick-or-treating to other worlds. But by the time Ven came along, he decided we were too old for it.” She glanced at Ventus, who looked flabbergasted at the thought of having missed out on such a fun opportunity. “But now that we’re all back together again, we thought we could split into teams and see who could bring home the most candy.”

“What’s trick-or-treating?” Terra heard Roxas ask Lea. Lea briefly explained what to do, and Roxas nodded, his face lighting up at the thought of a contest.

“I’ll take the girls, and Terra will take the boys,” Aqua continued. “You guys all have costumes, right?” The group nodded. “Great! We have made a few rules, but Terra will explain those.”

Terra stepped forward, glancing at his friends. “First of all, no stopping in Halloween Town. The place is off limits since they celebrate Halloween year-round. Second, only one bucket of candy per person. Since there are more boys than girls, my team will have two less buckets just to make it equal. Third, be back by midnight. And no rough housing or cheating.”

“And just have fun,” Aqua said with a smile. “So let’s all get changed and get going!”

______

Aqua looked at herself in the mirror one last time. She wasn’t used to dressing up, or wearing any makeup, but tonight was a special occasion. A knee-length white dress hugged her figure, and the small cap on her head looked great with her blue hair. _That’ll do,_ she said to herself. She had heard of women doctors and healers in other worlds, and with the few things she had in her closet it seemed like the best option. The three other girls were getting ready in the bathroom.

Despite the excitement of the evening, Aqua’s mind kept returning to what Terra was going to tell her at the Bistro. What on earth could have made him so nervous? And why would he try to distract her?

“Kairi, I don’t know about this,” Aqua heard Namine say quietly from inside the bathroom.

“Namine, you look great!” Kairi reassured. “it fits you perfectly!”

“Trust us,” Xion said gently, “you look _just_ like one.” Aqua heard Namine let out a small giggle.

“You girls about ready?” Aqua asked, glancing at the clock on the wall.

“Yep! Here I come!” Kairi shouted.

The door to the bathroom opened, and she stepped out. Aqua had to blink a few times to make sure she was seeing correctly. Kairi was adorned in dark greys, reds and blacks. Her face was covered in white makeup, her lips painted bright red. When she smiled, Aqua saw sharp teeth. Despite knowing they were fake, the sight of Kairi as a vampire was a bit strange considering her bubbly personality.

“What do you think?” Kairi asked, swishing her cape over her shoulder. 

“It looks great,” Aqua said, smiling. “Xion, Namine, are you ready?”

The other two stepped out a bit more hesitantly. Xion had a pointed hat atop her head, a long black dress, and a broomstick clutched in one hand. With her big blue eyes and innocent demeanor, she made an adorable witch. In stark contrast beside her stood Namine, wearing a knee-length white dress with lace sleeves, a small golden circlet resting on her flaxen hair. She was holding a small harp in one hand. With her already delicate features, Aqua could have sworn the girl was a living, breathing angel.

“You both look wonderful!” Aqua exclaimed. Xion and Namine smiled shyly. “Let’s go check on the boys and then head out.”

_____

Terra knocked on the door. “Everything okay in there?”

“Just...having some trouble,” came Ventus’ slight grunt.

Terra raised an eyebrow before walking inside. Riku, Ventus, Sora and Lea were all crowded around Roxas, who was standing with his arms outstretched. Strips of white fabric were strewn across the bedroom, and an open box of sewing needles and thread was next to Ventus.

Terra had to stifle a small laugh at the sight of Roxas. Fabric was covering most of his face pretty well, but his hair was still sticking straight up. Knowing that him and Ventus had nearly the exact same hair, Roxas would probably have very little success in making it stay down.

“Almost done,” Ventus said, a threaded needle in between his teeth. “Just have to make sure you don’t trip.”

“Where did you learn how to sew, Ven?” Terra asked.

He saw Ven’s ears turn pink. “Some of Cinderella’s friends.”

“Hey, you look good.” Lea said, glancing at Terra.

Terra rubbed his neck self-consciously. “Thanks.”

The truth was, Terra hadn’t dressed up for Halloween since he was quire young, so he wasn’t entirely sure _what_ to dress up as. But after finding some patterned pants in his closet and a shirt to match, he figured it was the best he could do.

“You look like a soldier!” Sora said excitedly.

“I guess that’s what I was going for,” Terra said, shrugging. “It was all I could find that looked like a costume.”

“Sora’s right, you _do_ look like a soldier. Or some kind of fighter.” Riku added.

“There!” Ven stitched up the last bit of Roxas’ costume and stood up. “ _Now_ you look like a mummy!”

Roxas gave Ventus a smile. “Thanks, Ven. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. So Terra,” Ven said, turning around. “how do we look?”

Terra looked at the five of them. Ventus had opted for a single white sheet over his head, with two holes cut out for eyes. Sora had a long coat over his clothes with a pirate hat perched on his head. Roxas was completely covered in white fabric, arms stretched out before him. Lea was covered completely from head to toe in black, two shuriken in his hands. Riku had a fur cap on, a ripped shirt with netting underneath it as well as pants that looked the same, and bare feet.

“You guys ready?” At their nod, Terra added, “let’s go check on everyone else.”

____

Aqua felt her breath catch in her throat when her eyes fell on Terra. She wasn’t sure if it was the tight-fitting shirt that she had never seen him in, the way he seemed to walk with more confidence, or the smile on his face. The smile brightened his whole demeanor, chased away the shadows under his skin and reached his eyes. It had been too long since she had seen her best friend smile for real.

Aqua shook her head slightly, trying to clear her thoughts. “You all look great!” she complimented the boys.

“Thanks,” Lea said, smirking at Roxas. Roxas had his eyes locked on Xion, and it was easy to tell that his mouth was open slightly despite the fabric covering it. Xion’s cheeks were flushed as she smiled back at him.

“Whoa!” Sora yelped as he looked at Kairi. “You...You look...” his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

“Yes?” Kairi prompted, in a sly tone of voice.

“Amazing!” Sora finished, his eyes bright.

Aqua suppressed a giggle, glancing at the rest of the group. Riku was looking at Namine in a way Aqua had never seen him look at anyone else. Namine, who was playing with the ends of her hair, simply gave him a shy smile.

 _I’ve never seen Riku blush before,_ Aqua thought to herself, smirking slightly at Riku’s obvious discomfort. _I’ll have to tell Terra about it later._

“Alright, everyone ready?” she asked the group. At their eager shouts, Aqua said, “Okay! Girls, you come with me. Boys, you go with Terra. Remember to be back by midnight! Stay safe and stay together! Have fun!”

And with that, the various trios embarked.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the two teams hunt across the worlds for candy, chaos ensues, feelings are wrestled with, and unsuspecting guests make their way onto the two teams!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I said I would update this chapter on Halloween. But it turned out to be a crazy, hectic, but very good day! This is a good 15 pages worth of material on Microsoft Word, so I hope you all enjoy it! Hope you all had an amazing, epic Halloween! Please leave kudos and comment! Y'all are the best <3
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

Aqua’s mind was distracted the whole trip to the first world.

Ven and Terra had a saying about Aqua. Rather than the phrase, “bite off more than you can chew,” they joked that Aqua often “chewed off more than she could bite.” Terra was a deep thinker, but he knew when to stop. Ven never seemed to think things deeply, but since his awakening Aqua had noticed him taking more time to ponder over things. Aqua, on the other hand, had a bad habit of overthinking things down to the nitty gritty detail. Like now.

The jolt of emotion she felt when she saw Terra in his costume caught her off guard. It hit her with all the force of a sledgehammer. Feelings that she had bured beneath the surface came rushing back like a great wave: the budding affection she had felt since she was twelve, the burden of responsibility of being a Keyblade Master, realizing the need to bury her feelings because of said responsibility, and the pain at pretending what she felt for one of her best friends was nothing more than deep friendship.

Being in the Realm of Darkness for so long, and intensely focusing on mere survival, had nearly made her forgotten those feelings.

Seeing Ven again after a decade was like a breath of fresh air. Hearing his laugh, seeing his smile, and seeing his growth was a smooth caress of a warm spring breeze. It was familiar. Comforting. _Wonderful._

Seeing Terra, however, gave Aqua the feeling of being on solid ground. The Realm of Darkness was always unsteady and she had to tell herself to keep her balance. Knowing he was back – really, _truly back –_ sent a warmth in Aqua’s heart. His arms felt like home. And in that one moment where the three of them embraced, and tears fell like rain, Aqua knew that those feelings of affection were back. And she would later find that they were more powerful than ever.

“Aqua, are you okay?”

Aqua looked to her left to see Xion looking at her in concern. She gave the girl a reassuring smile. “I’m fine, thanks. Just thinking about something.” She shifted her focus back to the huge WELCOME sign in front of them. “You ready to beat them at their own game?”

“Yeah!” all three girls cheered.

The three younger girls stuck close to Aqua as they walked into Traverse Town. Even on Halloween, the town was bustling with people. There were parents leading little children by the hand, teenagers arguing over what kind of candy to trade with one another, and even some adults that were fully involved in trick-or-treating. The air was crisp with excitement, and the mild breeze whispered of a fun night.

“Have you all been trick-or-treating before?” Aqua asked the girls. Each one of them shook their heads. “It’s pretty simple. Here, I’ll show you how it’s done.”

She walked up to a door and gave it a brisk knock. Upon an older woman opening the door, Aqua let out a cheerful, “Trick-or-Treat!”

“Don’t you all look nice,” the woman said with a smile, reaching into the big bowl of candy she was holding.

Xion, who seemed to understand what to do next, hesitantly held out her bucket. Kairi and Namine watched as a small handful of candy was dumped in, their eyes wide. The two of them then followed suit.

“Thank you,” Aqua said with a wave, “Happy Halloween! And that’s how it’s done,” she said to the girls as they walked away from the door. “You just do that until your bucket is full.”

“Can I do the next one?” Kairi asked excitedly.

Aqua laughed. “You bet.”

Once they were a few doors down Kairi, Namine and Xion seemed to understand how the system worked. At each door they bellowed out a cheerful, “Trick-or-Treat!” and thanked the givers of the candy. As they compared buckets, Aqua saw the smiles on each of their faces grow. Their childlike wonder and excitement made her heart warm.

“Go on, Namine,” Kairi urged a few doors later, giving the girl a gentle push. “You try it out.”

Namine looked at her friends with worried eyes. She was the only one who hadn’t knocked on a door yet. “A-Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Aqua said with a smile. “you’ll do great. It’ll be over before you know it! And if you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it again.”

“At least try it, though!” Xion added as she began to unwrap a small piece of chocolate.

“Hey, no eating the candy till we’re done, remember?” Aqua reminded her. Xion sadly nodded and stuck the candy back in her bucket.

Namine hesitantly raised a hand and knocked gently on the door. The door opened almost immediately. A girl, who looked younger than Aqua but older than the other three, stared back at them. Her dark hair was cut into a short bob, and a headband was wrapped around her forehead.

“Trick-or -”

“Yeah, I know the drill,” the girl said with a sigh. She reached to her left and held out an empty bowl. Upon seeing their confused stares, she glanced down into the bowl and sighed. “Sorry. I forgot I ate it all already out of sadness.”

“Are...you okay?” Aqua asked in concern.

The girl let out a dramatic, sad sigh. “I was supposed to go trick-or-treating with friends, but they ditched me the last second. So I’ve been eating my frustration.” She leaned against the door frame, tapping the empty bowl against her leg. “I already got all dressed up, too.” She gestured to the headband, her outfit of a crop top and shorts, and a giant shuriken strapped to her back.

An awkward silence followed. The girl stared at Aqua with her big dark eyes, her lower lip stuck out slightly. _Is she trying to get us to invite her to come along?_

Kairi gave the girl a smile. “You can come with us, if you want!”

“Kairi -” Aqua began, but she was quickly cut off. 

“You mean it?!” the girl all but yelled, the bowl falling on the floor with a _clang!_ “Awesome! Just let me get my bag!”

As she scurried away, Kairi spoke up. “Sorry. I guess I should have asked before inviting her.” She smiled sheepishly. “She just looked so sad.”

“She did,” Xion said thoughtfully. “it was a nice thing to do.”

Aqua couldn’t help but smile. “You’ve got a good heart, Kairi.”

“And...” Namine began, but then hesitated. Everyone looked at her encouragingly. “With her along...we are evenly matched with the boys.”

Xion gasped. “You’re totally right! We can get more candy now and win the contest!”

“We didn’t make any rules about someone else tagging along,” Aqua said, putting a finger to her chin. After thinking for a moment, she smiled. “Let’s do this!”

At that same moment, the new girl came out of the house. The rest of them brief the situation of the contest to her, and she jumped in excitement. “I’ll get you guys all the candy you need!”

“What’s your name?” Aqua asked as they walked together.

The girl responded enthusiastically. “I’m Yuffie! Wutai’s one white rose!”

____

_Meanwhile..._

“Thank you!” the boys echoed as they walked away.

“Coming to Disneytown first was a great idea, Terra!” Sora said in excitement. “There’s no way the girls will beat us now!”

“I wouldn’t underestimate Aqua,” Terra warned, but with a smile. “She can be pretty competitive.”

“She _does_ beat you in almost every race,” Ven said absently as he looked in his bucket.

“Or maybe you just _let_ her win,” Lea said, smirking.

Ven’s head snapped up. Despite that the only holes he had cut out were for his eyes, Terra could tell his mouth was open. “ _Do_ you?!”

Terra ignored how warm his face felt. “Let’s just keep moving. The faster we go, the more candy we get.”

“If we split up, we can cover more ground,” Riku said as he looked around. “There are an even number of us. We could do teams, maybe.”

“Makes sense to me,” Roxas replied, his voice slightly muffled by his mummy fabric.

“Good point,” Terra said, stopping in his tracks and turning around to the group. “Do you guys want to go with that idea?” At their nods, he continued, “Okay. Sora and Riku, Ven and Roxas, and Lea can come with me. Sound good to everyone?”

“Twins!” Ven said excitedly, sticking out a fist from under his sheet. Roxas gave him a fist bump, smiling.

“Alright, Lea. You ready? Lea?” Terra looked around, confused. “Where did he go?”

There was a small chorus of confused noises as the boys looked around. Lea, who had only been in the midst of them moments before, was no where to be seen.

“He couldn’t have gone far,” Sora said in a worried tone of voice.

“Where do you think he went? Why would he leave?” Riku asked the small crowd.

Roxas pulled down the fabric covering his mouth so everyone could hear him properly. “He told me earlier that if he were to leave, to not worry about it. He says he has a plan to make sure we win.” Roxas shrugged. “Knowing him, he’s probably doing something drastic.”

Terra thought to himself for a moment. He barely knew Lea, but from what he did know and assume this would be something Lea would do. “Well, if he said not to worry,” he finally said, “then let’s not worry about it. I’m sure he can handle himself if there’s trouble. Did he say anything else, Roxas?”

Roxas shook his head. “No, but -”

A sudden _ding!_ Came from the bottom of Sora’s bucket. He dug through the layers of candy and pulled out his Gummiphone. “I didn’t have any pockets,” he said defensively as everyone chuckled. Sora tapped the screen and said, “He just texted me. He said to go ahead without him, but that he’ll meet us back at the Land of Departure at midnight.” Sora stuck the Gummiphone back into the bucket.

“Well, that settles it. Should we go?” Riku asked, looking at Terra.

Terra nodded. “Let’s still split up, though. I don’t mind going by myself.” He gave the boys a small smirk. “I can be pretty fast.”

_____

_Meanwhile…_

The moment everyone’s back was turned, Lea bolted. Quiet as a shadow, he darted between buildings and alleyways, looking over his shoulder every so often to make sure he wasn’t being followed. If the rest of the team found out, it would spoil the entire plan.

 _I’ll send a message to Sora, just in case they’re worried or something,_ he thought, pulling his own Gummiphone out of his pocket. He quickly typed it up and pressed send. Then he typed up another message as he was walking:

_I’m here. Where are you?_

A moment later, his phone buzzed.

_**I think I see you. Are you the creepy one all dressed in black?** _

Lea stopped in his tracks and looked up. A short distance away, someone was leaning against a wall. In the bright light of the moon, Lea could see his face clearly.

“The creepy one? Really?” Lea complained as he made his way towards the man.

The man, who was much shorter than Lea and had hair sticking straight up, threw his arms in the air. “I didn’t see your face at first! But then I knew it was you because I can recognize your ridiculous hair anywhere.”

“You wish you had hair this cool, Demyx,” Lea said sarcastically as he leaned up against the wall.

Demyx shook his head. “Nah. My hair is cool enough. Anyways, why did you want me to meet you here? And what’s with the getup?” he gestured to Lea’s costume.

Lea rolled his eyes. “It’s Halloween, dummy. And I wanted you to do me a favor.”

“A favor?” Demyx’s brow furrowed. “Like what?”

Lea held out a rather large bucket and handed it to him. “I need you to fill these up.”

“Like...with candy?”

Lea closed his eyes in slight frustration. “ _No_ Demyx, with Hearts. _Yes,_ with candy!”

“Wait, why do you need _me_ to do it?” Demyx asked, Lea’s sarcasm flying completely over his head.

Lea explained the situation with the contest, and his ulterior motives. By the time he was finished, Demyx was looking at him skeptically.

“So what’s in this for me?” he asked.

Lea grinned. “All the candy you can get.”

Demyx’s eyes went wide. “Sign me up!”

______

_The girls:_

The girls had struck gold in Wonderland. Despite the world’s oddness, the people and creatures there had been more than generous with sharing various sweets and treats. (Apparently their Queen was a big fan of Halloween and, according to some, the reason being that she can cut off more people’s heads than usual).

“We’re almost done,” Namine said happily, looking down at her basket. “Thanks for your help, Yuffie,” she added, smiling at her new friend. 

Yuffie nodded enthusiastically. “Thanks for letting me tag along! When you make your way back, make sure you tell them who helped you out,” she said with a wink.

“It’s just about time, too,” Aqua said, glancing at a clock on the wall. It was already half past eleven. “We should head out of here in about twenty minutes or so, just to get back home on time.” She smiled at the girls. “Where do you want to go next?”

“Sora has always raved about Port Royal,” Kairi suggested. “why not there?”

“That sounds fun!” Xion said, smiling brightly. Namine nodded in agreement. “What do you think, Aqua?”

“Seems like a good idea to me,” Aqua replied. “Although you three should probably stick close to me while we’re there. I won’t let anyone give you any trouble.”

______

_Roxas and Ven:_

“We make a good team!” Ventus said, a wide smile on his face.

“Between the two of us, I’d say we made more than Terra could by himself!” Roxas replied excitedly, being careful to step over the curb as they made their way onto the sidewalk.

After departing from Disneytown, the team of boys made their way to a place called San Fransokyo – which none of them had never heard of, but according to Sora it was “the coolest city ever!” Seeing as how Sora had been to more worlds than the rest of them combined, they decided to trust his judgment.

Ven raised a hand. “High five!” Roxas obliged in giving his friend a high five with a small laugh.

As the two of them walked beneath streetlights, children and teenagers in costumes ran past them. Both Roxas and Ven stared at them in awe: everyone’s costumes were so intricate, down to the last detail, and their fascination only grew as some of them began to fly into the sky.

“I wish I could do that,” Roxas said wistfully.

“My armor kind of makes me fly,” Ventus answered. “I can show you what it’s like. That is, if you’d like to,” he added quickly.

Roxas smiled. “Are you kidding? I’d love that! Thanks, Ventus.”

“You bet!”

The two of them continued on their way, but a few steps ahead Roxas felt something tug on his left foot. All at once, he was losing his balance. As his mind scrambled, Roxas suddenly realized that the fabric that Ven had sewn up must have become loose, and he must have tripped on it. He flung his arms around wildly, trying to remain upright.

Ventus, seeing the commotion, quickly tried to hold his friend upright. But Roxas, who was already reeling back and forth, made Ven’s stance wobbly. Ven practically danced around Roxas, but in the midst of the chaos the sheet over his head slipped, covering his eyes. In a panic, Ven tried to feel his way around things. He stepped on something hard, heard Roxas say, “Ouch!” and the two of them fell over in a tangle of limbs and white fabric.

“Are you okay?!” Ventus asked, his voice slightly muffled.

“Yeah,” Roxas grunted, “just landed hard on my elbow, but I’ll be alright.” Ventus heard him pause for a moment. “Oh no.” Roxas’ voice had suddenly gone quiet.

Ven quickly tried to pull the sheet over his head. “What? What’s wrong?”

“The candy...” Roxas started to say, but couldn’t seem to finish.

Ventus’ heart skipped a beat. “What about it?!” He somehow managed to find the underside of the sheet, and he quickly tore it off of his head. His eyes widened as he saw what Roxas meant.

During the struggle, their two buckets seemed to have flown in the air. All of their candy – every single delectable, wrapped sweet – had spilled off of the curb and onto the street. Ventus’ wide eyes followed the trail of candy that led from the sidewalk, to the curb, to the street – _and into a sewer vent._

“Oh no,” he breathed, quickly getting up. Roxas followed suit, and the two of them scrounged up as much candy as they could save. When they dumped them into the buckets, it barely filled half of it. Ventus’ face fell.

Roxas noticed his friend’s disappointment. “We can go back to the houses we went to, or to some new ones,” he suggested hopefully.

Ven shook his head. “We don’t have the time. It’s already late, and we were going to meet up with the others to go home soon.”

Roxas put a comforting hand on Ven’s shoulder. “Hey,” he said softly, “it’ll work out, Ven. I’m sure Terra will understand.”

Ven bit his lip, and then nodded. “Sorry you tripped,” he said. “I guess I didn’t do a very good job sewing up the bottom.”

Roxas shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. You did the best you could.” He straightened up and held out a hand. Ventus took it and pulled himself up. “Come on. Let’s go find the others.”

_____

_Lea and Demyx:_

“Where _is_ he?!” Lea growled to himself as he pushed himself through the crowd. “Man, I leave him alone for _two seconds_ and he gets distracted...”

The longer the night went on, the more Lea regretted bringing Demyx along. Demyx insisted on wearing a costume, but it took him what seemed like _forever_ to decide. When Demyx finally emerged with the tips of his hair dyed red, his face painted white with blue tears and a red rubber nose, Lea had to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

He knew very well he could’ve asked Isa, but knowing his best friend, Isa probably would’ve said no. And Demyx, despite his mild annoyance, was surprisingly fast in certain circumstances (namely circumstances usually involving bribery). Knowing that Demyx was good at Recon back in the Organization days, Demyx would surely know where to find the best/most amount of candy.

This was their final stop before heading back to the Land of Departure. The world of Corona was a pleasant one, filled with very friendly people who handed out homemade goods as well as wrapped candies. And the ladies here weren’t too bad to look at, either. Apparently the princess was a big fan of dressing up and handing out candy, so the tradition was made a yearly custom.

The two of them were almost done, but Lea had turned his back for a mere second and Demyx was gone. Now Lea was frantically moving through the crowd, keeping an eye on the giant clock on a nearby clock tower. They had to be back in the Land of Departure in ten minutes, and if they included travel time, they needed to head out _now._ Dragging a huge bucket full of candy wasn’t exactly helping his cause either.

Over the talk of the crowd, Lea heard a very familiar tune played on strings. Knowing exactly where Demyx was now, Lea rolled his eyes and trudged his way to the town square.

Sure enough, there was Demyx, holding what looked like a small guitar. He was playing for the crowd, and the people were clapping. Some of them were even _dancing._ Lea shook his head; he heard Demyx play this exact same tune almost every day in the Organization, and it got old fast. How the people of Corona hadn’t gotten sick of it yet, he didn’t know.

“Demyx!” he yelled. Demyx turned around, an innocent expression on his face. “We gotta go!”

“No way, bro!” Demyx yelled back, his fingers dancing across the strings. “They’re loving this!”

“We gotta get back! We’ve only got ten minutes!” Lea shouted in frustration. “And where is your bucket?”Demyx gestured to a short old man with a long beard, who was clearly very drunk, sitting on the bucket. Lea groaned. “Move it, Demyx! Now!”

“Just give me a second!”

Lea set his bucket on the ground, walked over to Demyx, bent down to his ear and whispered, in the most menacing voice he could muster, “ _Move it or your candy is mine.”_

He had never seen Demyx move so fast.

_____

It seemed like no time had gone at all, but midnight had sneaked up on everyone. Thankfully, the two groups had all made it back to the Land of Departure safely. Everyone was bright-eyed with excitement, holding onto their individual buckets of candy.

Aqua made her way over to Terra. “Is everyone back?”

Terra did a head count. “We’re still missing Lea, but he should be here any second. He went ahead of us,” he explained at Aqua’s confused expression. “He told us not to worry about it.”

“Yuffie!” Sora yelled, running over to her.

Namine blinked. “You know her?”

“Yeah! We’ve known each other for ages!” Sora smiled brightly. “What are you doing here?”

Yuffie gestured to Kairi, Namine, Xion and Aqua. “They ran into me in Traverse Town and asked if I wanted to tag along.”

“That wasn’t part of the rules,” Terra pointed out to Aqua as he overheard their conversation.

Aqua shrugged. “It wasn’t _in_ the rules, so technically it’s not breaking them. And with her on board, we were almost equal in number and had a better advantage.” She said with a slight smirk.

“….Fair enough,” Terra said with a sigh. “Let’s get everyone rounded up.”

_____

“Okay, everyone!” Aqua yelled, cupping her hands over her mouth. “The number of points your team gets counts on how many worlds you visited and a rough estimate of how much candy you have. The winner team gets half of the loser team’s candy!” Everyone cheered, and Aqua smiled. Looking at their bright, young faces, she felt a pull of nostalgia and love for each and every one of them. “So who wants to go first?”

“US!” Sora yelled, shooting his hand into the air.

“Ladies first,” Riku said to Namine with a smile. Aqua saw her cheeks go pink.

“Where’s Axel?” Roxas asked, looking around for his friend. 

“Wasn’t he with you?” Xion asked, sounding worried.

“He took off, but said he’d meet us here...” Roxas replied.

“And here I am!” Lea’s voice said from behind Roxas. His arm wrapped around Roxas’ neck, and he dug his fist into his friend’s hair. “You didn’t think I’d miss this, did you?!”

“Wait, _Demyx?!”_ Xion said, shock in her voice.

“’Sup, girl?” Demyx said, nodding at her. He glanced at Roxas, and then gave Xion a sly grin. “So, are the two of you finally an item?”

“W-What?!” Xion and Roxas both said, their faces turning pink.

“Hey, guys!” Terra shouted, “let’s quiet down for a second, okay?” Everyone hushed their voices. He turned to Aqua and said, “Riku’s right. Ladies first.”

Kairi, Namine, Xion, Aqua and Yuffie each set their buckets on the ground. Yuffie dug into her many pockets in her jacket and shorts and pulled out more handfuls of candy. Xion tipped her head down, gently took off her witch’s hat, and set that on the ground as well. The hat was full of more candy.

“We visited four worlds: Traverse Town, the Toy Box, Wonderland, and Port Royal.” Aqua stated proudly. “We made a good haul.”

“Nice job,” Terra said with a smile. The rest of the boys nodded, clearly impressed. “Alright, guys. Let’s lay ours out!”

Sora and Riku came forward and set their buckets on the ground. Roxas and Ven looked at each other hesitantly, then set theirs on the ground next to the other two.

“What happened to your guys’?” Terra asked, frowning slightly at their only partially full buckets.

“We did get a lot in San Fransokyo...” Ven began in a mumble. 

“...but we both tripped on the way back and most of the candy went into the sewer.” Roxas finished dejectedly.

Ven looked at Terra with pleading eyes. “Please don’t be mad! It was an accident!”

Terra blinked, then smiled. He reached out a hand and ruffled Ven’s hair. “Hey, no worries. I’m sure you guys did great. Thanks for bringing what you did.” Ven and Roxas gave each other another high five. “As for worlds,” Terra said to the crowd, “We visited five: Disneytown, Agrabah, Port Royal, Corona, and San Fransokyo.”

“As far as worlds go, you definitely made it to more than we did,” Aqua acknowledged. “but I think we got more candy overall since Roxas and Ven had their little accident.”

“So,” Kairi said with a grin at Sora, “hand over your booty, pirate.” Sora blushed.

“Not so fast!” Lea called out. Everyone turned to look at him. He had a devious grin on his face. “I took the liberty of making my _own_ team, with the help of Demyx here.” He gestured to Demyx, who gave everyone an awkward wave.

“That wasn’t part of the contest!” Terra argued, now realizing what Lea’s motives were.

Lea shrugged. “Hey, there was never anything in the rules about there _not_ being a third team. We went to all of the worlds both you and Aqua’s team went to. _And_ ,” he reached behind him and pulled a huge bucket forward. Demyx sat his down next to Lea’s with a slight giggle. “you said only one bucket per person, but you never said what _size_ bucket. So, Team Lea wins.” He pointed a finger to his temple. “Got it memorized?”

Everyone looked at the two of them in stunned silence. Aqua looked at Terra worriedly, unsure of what to do. Terra looked back and forth between the buckets and Lea, his jaw clenched. Aqua felt her heart beat faster, and she braced herself to grab hold of her Keyblade. Terra had always been a very competitive person; would he turn this into a potential fight?

To her surprise, however, Terra began to laugh. To her even greater surprise, it wasn’t the short laugh that Terra usually did. Terra’s shoulders were shaking with laughter, and he was doubled over with his hands on his knees. It was a full-on belly laugh that warmed Aqua from the inside out. She had never heard anything more beautiful, or more real.

Terra’s laughter had the same effect on everyone else. Soon everyone was roaring with laughter. Sora and Ven were on the ground, clutching their sides. Xion had begun making little snorting noises. Roxas kept saying, “that was AWESOME!” in between catches of breath. Namine was smiling and laughing more than Aqua had ever seen her, and Kairi was wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. Even Riku, who always looked serious, had his head thrown back.

 _I wish this moment could last forever,_ Aqua thought to herself.

“You got me, Lea,” Terra finally said breathlessly as he straightened up, “you win. Take half from both of us.”

“Oh no,” Lea said, shaking his head wildly. “that’s too much sugar, even for me.”

“I’ll take it!” Demyx chimed in. Everyone laughed again.

____

There was too much excitement to even _think_ about the possibility of going to bed.

Terra and Riku had gathered some firewood and started a bonfire. Ven, who was very gifted at magic, cast Firaga and summoned a huge bonfire for everyone to enjoy. Aqua and Kairi went into the castle, scrounged the cupboards and pantry, and brought out marshmallows for everyone to roast. Despite the cold air and lowering temperature, no one was cold.

Terra glanced around at his friends. Roxas and Xion were sitting next to each other, and by their movements Terra could tell they were holding hands. Lea had three marshmallows roasting at once. Ven and Demyx were having a contest to see how many marshmallows they could fit into their mouths. Riku was talking softly to Namine, and Namine was looking at him with stars in her eyes. Sora had an arm around Kairi, and Kairi leaned into him, her eyelids half-shut. Yuffie was sprawled in front of the fire, complaining of a stomachache.

And then there was Aqua, whom the firelight made even more beautiful. The two of them made eye contact, and Aqua smiled gently at him. Terra grinned back.

“Hey,” Lea whispered as he leaned over to him, “if you don’t tell her now, you’ll never tell her.” He chuckled at Terra’s surprised look. “I overheard you two at the Bistro the other day. I stopped by for a bite when I saw you. Look,” he let out a sigh, “it’s obvious to tell how much you love her. We can all see it. The only one who can’t is you and her. So go do something about it. And, just as a tip, actions speak louder than words.” He gave Terra a wink before focusing on his marshmallows.

Somehow, Terra knew he was right.

______

It was already so late, and not trusting that everyone would get back safely with how tired they would get on the way back, Aqua offered the castle to everyone to sleep for the night. “What do you think?” She asked Terra shortly before she made the announcement. “it’s already late, and that way they can get a good night’s sleep before they head out tomorrow morning.”

Terra nodded. “The boys can share my room, and the girls can sleep in yours. I’m sure there’s extra blankets somewhere.”

The fire had been put out, the empty marshmallow bags thrown away, and exhaustion hit everyone like a truck. No one objected to staying the night, not even the unexpected guests. Within half an hour, everyone was comfortable in their blankets and fast asleep.

Except Terra.

He stared at the treat in his hand. He had heard of these before, but only through the grapevine in other worlds. Apparently it was a famous treat in one world specifically, but it had been a long time since anyone had gone there. He was lucky to find someone who knew how to make it.

“ _Take the cracker,” the old man in Disneytown had said, “put the marshmallow on it, then a piece of chocolate, then top it off with another cracker. They’re called S’mores.”_

Terra wasn’t sure if he did it right, but it was worth a try.

“Terra?”

He turned around. Aqua had entered the kitchen, a light blue robe worn over her pajamas. “I got your message on my phone. What’s up?”

Terra swallowed hard. He would _not_ back down this time. “Do you remember a few days ago, when we made the deal about the contest?” At Aqua’s nod, he continued. “Well, technically, I lost. We both did, really.”

Aqua blinked. “I completely forgot about that. I guess I was so wrapped up in everything that went on,” she laughed slightly. “so, do you have something you want me to do since I lost?”

Terra nodded and held out the treat. “Eat this.” His voice cracked a little.

Aqua raised an eyebrow as she took the s’more from his outstretched hand. “What is it?”

“Just try it,” Terra urged. “I know you’ll like it.”

Aqua gave him a quizzical look, but bit into the treat. Almost immediately her eyes closed in sheer pleasure as she chewed. “Terra, this is amazing! How did you learn to make this?”

“An old man at Disneytown taught me,” Terra said with a smile. Aqua smiled back at him. She had melted chocolate on the edges of her lips.

Terra took a deep breath. It was now or never. _Don’t you dare chicken out._ “Now it’s time to fulfill my end of the bargain.”

Aqua’s look of confusion deepened. Terra made himself step forward. Her eyes widened slightly, her cheeks dusted with pink. In one smooth, fluid motion that Terra never knew he was capable of, he cradled her face in his hands and gently put his lips on hers.

It was everything Terra could have dreamed of. Happiness welled up inside of him like a balloon, and he swore he heard fireworks inside of his mind. Aqua tasted of chocolate and sweet marshmallows and something that was just uniquely _her._ He could have kissed her forever.

Except for the fact that Aqua was standing so still, she might have been a statue. Realizing what he had done, Terra quickly pulled his head back. But to his utter shock and amazement, Aqua had snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her.

 _She’s kissing me back,_ Terra thought dumbly to himself. _She’s actually kissing me back. Why didn’t I do this sooner? Please don’t let this be a dream._

When it became apparent that the two of them needed to breathe, they broke apart. Aqua looked up at him through her lashes, a shy smile on her face. In her deep blue eyes, Terra knew all her ever needed to.

“You could’ve told me,” she said quietly with a smile.

Terra shrugged. “It felt more right this way.”

Aqua rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed. “I love you,” she whispered. “I always have.”

Terra hugged her tighter. “I know,” he replied quietly. “Same here. And I love you, too.”

Little did the two of them know that outside the kitchen light, Ven, who had gotten out of bed for a glass of water, was smiling wider than he ever had before. “About time, you two,” he whispered to himself happily. He went back upstairs, deciding to give his two best friends a bit more privacy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed it! :D

**Author's Note:**

> in case you couldn't tell what their costumes were: 
> 
> Aqua: Nurse  
> Kairi: Vampire  
> Xion: Witch  
> Namine: Angel
> 
> Terra: Soldier  
> Sora: Pirate  
> Roxas: Mummy  
> Ventus: Sheet Ghost  
> Riku: Werewolf 
> 
> I tried to find costumes that best suit each of their personalities, as well as costumes I think they'd look absolutely adorable in :) let me know what you think in the comments!


End file.
